Using MYTT To Enhance Rural Primary School Pupils’ Learning on Simple Past Tense

Abstract

Grammar is essential in the teaching and learning of the English language due to its core function for learners of this language in both their speech and writing. Nevertheless, some primary school learners in rural areas in Sarawak, Malaysia are challenged with the learning of tenses to the fullest due to inadequate language learning supports. Therefore, an innovation called MyTT was developed and it aimed to enhance primary school pupils’ learning on simple past tense at the simple sentence level. Action research was conducted to explore the effectiveness and usability of this innovation. A total of 24 Primary 4 pupils regardless of gender from a rural area national primary school in Belaga District, Sarawak was selected as the sample (purposive sampling) in this action research. They were given two sets of worksheets, each at pre-test and post-test, and a set of questionnaires at post-test. The results illuminated that there were increments in pupils’ usage of verbs in sentences, correctly and appropriately. Based on the survey conducted on the pupils, the data implied that most pupils gave a positive perception towards MyTT in enhancing their usage of verbs in sentences. MyTT template will benefit English language teachers in their teaching of simple past tense at simple sentence level to their learners.